Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Peter Jackson In 'Deep Talks' For Third 'Hobbit' Film - MTV.com

Peter Jackson is going to Middle-Earth and back again, and back again, and, if he has his way, back again for a third "Hobbit" movie.

The "Lord of the Rings" director's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" has already been divided into two films â" and now, reports have resurfaced stronger than ever that he wants to turn his latest fantasy epic into a full-blown trilogy. The Hollywood Reporter cites sources saying Jackson wants to create a third movie out of his latest Tolkienien tale, a move that would require two additional months of filming in New Zealand next summer and, by extension, brand new deals with the actors involved.

Rumors of a third "Hobbit" film first emerged at Comic-Con earlier this month, when Jackson told fans that he wanted to shoot more footage for his two-part adaptation of Bilbo Baggins' greatest adventure. That desire has now reportedly manifested in the form of a third feature film, and according to the THR report, Warner Bros. will back the plan "if the right financial arrangements can be achieved."

"If we're going to do it, we have to make a decision soon," says a source near the production, according to THR. "It's strongly driven by the filmmaker's desire to tell more of the story."

Tolkien's "The Hobbit" does not match the page length or the epic scope of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy; as it stands, a two-film adaptation is already stretching things for some fans. So what material could possibly be left over for Jackson to adapt as a third film? Try 125 extra pages of material, according to what the filmmaker told Deadline this month.

"There are 125 pages of notes published at the back of 'Return of the King' in one of the later editions. It was called The Appendices, and they are essentially [Tolkien's] expanded Hobbit notes. So we had the rights to those as well and were allowed to use them," said Jackson. "We haven't just adapted 'The Hobbit'; we've adapted that book plus great chunks of his appendices and woven it all together. The movie explains where Gandalf goes; the book never does. We've explained it using Tolkien's own notes. That helped inform the tone of the movie, because it allowed us to pull in material he wrote in 'The Lord of the Rings' era and incorporate it with 'The Hobbit.'"

Are you interested in Jackson's ideas for a "Hobbit" trilogy, or are two films enough for you? Tell us in the comments section below!